Hamilton City Manager Joshua Smith outlined an aggressive, two-year economic development strategy for the city Thursday that included an announcement about a new software company relocating its national sales office here.

Smith said City Council faces some tough financial decisions, but the next 24 months will define Hamilton’s future. He said much of the city’s efforts during that time will be focused on improving the East High Street corridor and South Hamilton Crossings, leveraging the city’s “green” potential and re-purposing empty buildings downtown, all in the interest of recruiting and attracting new businesses and jobs.

“We’re gonna be out there (marketing ourselves) like no other community, kicking ass and bringing jobs here,” Smith emphatically told a crowd of more than 100 at the Courtyard by Marriott during Thursday’s State of the City Address. “We want to have the most aggressive economic development program in southwest Ohio.”

Smith followed up those bold words by telling the audience that Liferay, Inc., a fast-growing, California-based technology company would be opening an office with six employees in the Robinson-Schwenn Building downtown in January. The company, which has clients that include Allianz, BASF, Cisco Systems, Rolex SA, the French Ministry of Defense, and the United Nations, has the potential of growing to 15 employees in the first few years, said Joshua Asbury, a Hamilton resident and director of corporate sales.

“We hope to make a positive impact by bringing job opportunities and economic growth to the city of Hamilton,” Asbury said.

Smith said companies like Liferay represent the future of Hamilton and its urban core.

“These are well-paying jobs that will retain and attract highly coveted talent to our city center,” he said.

During their State of the City speech, Smith and Mayor Pat Moeller focused on several initiatives the city has launched over the past two years that are laying the foundation for Hamilton’s future. Smith pointed to the Mercantile Lofts and the former Journal News building as models of what downtown redevelopment in Hamilton can look like. The Mercantile Lofts, a former commercial building on High Street, have rented 26 of 29 spaces.

“What happened at the Mercantile Lofts is what we need to see happen everywhere downtown,” Smith said.

Looking to the future, Smith said the city will also be focusing on leveraging its green potential and a way to drive job growth and attract new businesses. He said by 2015, Hamilton may be the only city in the U.S. that will have a non-carbon emitting electric system, which could be a big marketing tool for the city to prospective businesses.

Smith the city will also establish a Cleantech incubator that focuses on technology, products and services. He said the city will have a focus on business creation that includes renewable energy generation, storage and other bio-fuels and energy efficiency. In addition, the city is constructing a compressed natural gas fueling station, the only one in southwest Ohio, that will be complete by the end of 2013.

“We’re going to be the greenest city in the U.S.,” he said.

Moeller joked, “We’ll be the Big Green as well as the Big Blue.”

Moeller touted some of the city’s recent accomplishments in his remarks and emphasized the importance of having community partners and setting time lines for projects. He said there were “rough waters ahead” with the city’s finances with declining revenues, increased costs and smaller budget reserves, but was optimistic about the future.

It was a sentiment shared by many of those who attended the presentation.

“Overall, it was very energizing,” said Scott Owens, vice president of LNE Group. “There was a lot of positive energy. This is a move in the right direction, and it was very exciting to see so many new and good projects coming together.”